What Is Form 5500?
Form 5500 is the annual return/report that employee benefit plans file with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), IRS, and PBGC to satisfy ERISA and Internal Revenue Code reporting requirements. It's the primary public window into a plan's finances, participants, and service providers.
Last updated June 2, 2026
Who has to file a Form 5500?
Most pension and welfare benefit plans covered by ERISA must file annually. That includes 401(k) and other defined-contribution plans, defined-benefit pension plans, and funded health & welfare plans. Filing is done electronically through the DOL's EFAST2 system, and the data (except 5500-EZ) is published publicly.
- Defined-contribution plans (401(k), profit-sharing, ESOP, money purchase)
- Defined-benefit pension plans
- 403(b) plans subject to ERISA
- Funded welfare plans, and unfunded/insured welfare plans with 100+ participants
Form 5500 vs. 5500-SF vs. 5500-EZ
Which form a plan files depends mostly on size and structure:
- Form 5500 (the full form) — large plans, generally 100+ participants. These attach schedules such as Schedule H (financials) and Schedule C (service-provider compensation).
- Form 5500-SF — the short form for most small plans (generally fewer than 100 participants) that meet certain conditions. SF filers do not file Schedule C, so small plans don't publicly disclose their service providers.
- Form 5500-EZ — one-participant (owner-only) and certain foreign plans. Filed with the IRS and not published in the public EFAST2 dataset.
What's in the schedules?
- Schedule A — insurance contract information
- Schedule C — service-provider compensation (large plans)
- Schedule D — participation in pooled investment entities (DFEs/CCTs)
- Schedule H / I — large-plan / small-plan financial statements
- Schedule R — retirement-plan distribution and funding information
- Schedule SB / MB — actuarial information for defined-benefit plans
Why the data is useful
Because filings are public, anyone can look up a company's plan assets, participant counts, the recordkeeper and custodian it uses, audit firm, and (for the largest plans) the underlying investment holdings. That makes Form 5500 a powerful tool for benchmarking fees, researching providers, and prospecting.
Search ~2.9 million Form 5500 filings by company, EIN, or plan name — assets, participants, providers, and holdings.
Search filingsFrequently asked questions
Yes. Form 5500 and 5500-SF filings are published by the DOL through EFAST2 and are freely searchable. Form 5500-EZ (one-participant plans) is filed with the IRS and is not part of the public dataset.
Each Form 5500 covers a single plan year. Plans choose a plan year (often the calendar year), and the form reports that year's financials, participant counts, and service providers.